analysis

Earlier today we saw some analysis done on sales of smartphone units in the year 2019 from the company called Counterpoint. We learned that the iPhone XR dominated the globe, followed by the iPhone 11 and a few Samsung Galaxy A smartphones. Now we've got some results from another firm, a firm that doesn't track smartphone sales, but smartphone shipments - that's a different part of the puzzle, and it shows some slightly different results!

This week the folks at analytical group Counterpoint released their smartphone unit sales numbers for the year 2019. This covers the entire 12 month period of the year 2019, in all regions around the globe. According to Counterpoint, Apple, Samsung, and one other brand dominated the top list.

Huawei keeps shipping more phones every year, growing said shipments by percentages that leave all other companies in the dust. For example their year-over-year growth for Q3 of the year 2019 for unit shipments was a positive 29%. The next largest - and only other major positive percentage - was Samsung's comparatively meager 8%. Because of Huawei's monstrous growth, global smartphone vendor shipments this quarter (compared to this same quarter last year) are up 2%.

This week 3D-sensing laser manufacturer Lumentum spoke about the future of their products in devices beyond those they've worked with in the recent past. Lumentum is the primary supplier of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) components for Apple's iPhone X line of smartphones re: TrueDepth front-facing cameras. These lasers enable Face ID, portrait mode photography (frontside camera only, for now), and Animoji, in iPhones of several sorts. This week Lumentum Chief Executive Officer Alan Lowe said straight up: Android's on the way.

The 2019 iPhone may not have 5G, but Apple could instead adopt another cutting-edge wireless technology for its flagship smartphones. Although the next-generation iPhones are still several quarters away - and Apple remains at the center of controversy around whether its handsets are too expensive - rumors about the specifications of the 2019 iPhones have already begun.

A survey was conducted on approximately 2,000 Americans, one half Android users, the other half iPhone users. The poll covered a whole bunch of topics, like cash spent on tech products, selfies shot, and overall happiness. While there's no telling whether these averages represent greater numbers of Android and iPhone users around the world, these limited results are pretty interesting in and of themselves.

For the second quarter in a row, OnePlus sold more phones in India than any other brand. That includes Apple, and it includes Samsung too. They're doing this by focusing on local trends, including cashback and EMI (equated monthly installment) offers. OnePlus is also has local India-based manufacturing, allowing the company to sell their smartphones without high import duties.

Apple's big Mac switch from Intel chips to its own processors won't be happening any time soon, and could end up seeing the Cupertino firm shift its silicon dependence from one firm to another. That's the prediction from one Apple analyst, riffing on long-standing rumors that the company aims to oust Intel from at least some of its laptops and desktops and use its own, in-house designs in their place.

Bigger is apparently better, with the iPhone XS Max outselling the iPhone XS handily over Apple's launch weekend according to one analyst's numbers. Curiosity had been high as to which would be the more successful iPhone XS variant, given the level of demand for a larger smartphone against the iPhone XS Max's premium price tag.

Don't expect Apple Pencil support on the new iPhone, and don't be surprised if 3D Touch gets axed next year, at least according to the latest analyst predictions of upcoming hardware changes. The 2018 iPhone range is widely expected to debut in September, complete with notched-displays across the range, but exactly which features will be borrowed from elsewhere in Apple's line-up is unclear.

The Apple Car rumor has reignited, with analyst predictions that the Cupertino company will look to four wheels and complex technology for its next iPhone-scale success. Speculation that Apple is considering wading into transportation has been a regular topic of discussion in recent years, as investors and fans alike try to guess what the $1 trillion company might do next.

There's an easy way for the Google Assistant to overshadow Amazon's Alexa, one analyst has suggested: simply give every home in America a free Google Home Mini. The coast-to-coast giveaway might cost Google a pretty penny to achieve, or so the idea goes, but it could more than make up for it with search profits.